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My Motherhood

3 Milestones I Have Overcome As A New-Mom

Almost 2 years ago, during my entire pregnancy I was all absorbed in so called “internet knowledge“, which consisted all about what to expect during and post pregnancy as first time mom. Whether I had to know all of that information beforehand or not, in a way it prepared me to deal with anxiety and geared me up for what was going to happen to me “the first time” in my life. By then I had been exposed to sufficient enough mommy-to-be tips from my family and friends. Of course all that helped me, theoretically. However, the real “first time mommy” instincts kicked in on their own soon as I delivered Sultan.

1. Milestone: Unscheduled (UNEXPECTED) C-Section

As painful as it is recalling those countless hours of continuous labor pain and unforeseen circumstances, through which we (me and my baby) had to suffer together; I believe there is absolute beauty in overcoming those hardships.

I was always regular on my monthly pregnancy check ups, prescribed medications and ultrasounds etc. There was absolutely no sign of complication as such, and I was more than confident that my baby would come out all healthy and naturally when he is ready. Unfortunately, not everything takes place as planned and despite of being advocate of “all natural”; I was almost forced into accepting to go through an emergency C-section during my failed labor and contractions.

My baby was well delivered within an hour of anaesthetics dosage given to me. As you may have read in my previous posts, Sultan was born weighing whopping 3.9kg (MashaAllah), which could well be the reason for unscheduled C-section.

All is well that ends well.

It was a great challenge taking care of a newborn, managing to endure the incision pain (not an enthusiast of pain killers), breastfeeding for straight first 5 months, continuously pumping milk for storing for later and of course not forgetting the all needed attention that any husband requires.

Ultimately it was all worth it; especially now that my baby is showing great milestones progress on monthly, if not, daily basis.

2. Milestone: Breastfeeding

The urge to have my baby latch on to have some milk about 30 minutes post his birth was undoubtedly an instinct that I never envisioned doing during my pregnancy; although I had read a lot about lactation tips. I had completely ignored the fact that I just came out of operation room. All that did not matter a bit.

I remember requesting the nurse to bring me my baby for feeding, when she gently smiled and replied, “Your baby isn’t hungry yet. You need to rest”. This sounded to me somehow pushy; (relax we know better than you what and when your baby needs!). Frankly speaking I did not have much power to resist her, but I kept insisting and raised my tone this time, “I feel he is hungry, so please bring him now!”. Obviously, she would not be in the position to argue with me any further.

Shortly I had my son in my weak arms and he immediately latched on and sipped of some fresh colostrum (first milk). This was one of the check points I promised myself not to miss on, as I had read lots of great things about allowing baby to drink the first milk, rich in vitamins and nutrition.

3. Milestone: Weaning

I was all equipped with baby feeding bottles, milk storage containers and breast pump prior to giving birth. I was not sure whether I will require some or all of these products, but I decided to stock up for emergency situations.

Luckily, all of the bottles, containers etc, came in handy when I felt the need to pump and store for when my husband would take my son for short walk on his own (without me); or for visiting his grandparents for over night stay. Thankfully, there was always oversupply of milk and I never faced shortage whatsoever.

However, as time went by, I started to feel locked up at home, mainly due to the reason that I had quit my permanent job after getting married and was all soaked up in diapers, milk and homemaking commitments. My partial post partum depression started fading away when Sultan began showing interest in powdered formula milk while he was away from me for couple of hours.

The weaning process began naturally on its own; but mainly with the aid of Sultan it was made easy on both of us (if not all of us in the family). He never refused or fussed being offered formula milk and he was fast accustomed to bottle feeding. It was in a way heartbreaking to realize that I did not complete 2 years of breastfeeding him as recommended worldwide, however, I was somehow relieved of the guilt when doctors did not interfere nor discouraged me from weaning process. Honestly speaking, toward the 6th month my milk supply was lower than ever before, mainly because I started pumping more infrequently and gradually milk supply went down.

It makes me proud to be a mama who managed to (at least) stick to breastfeeding for continuous 5 months, which I know for a fact is not a necessary aspect for many women who for some or the other reasons cannot breastfeed at all. It is a personal choice every individual mother makes, no one is to be judged at all.

Thank you for reading my most heartfelt confession on my experiences as a first time mommy. Please feel free to share your personal motherhood experience, knowledge and/or advice.